For as long as I can remember, when I thought about being a published writer, I always wanted to be traditionally published. And for much of my life, that was the only option available to me. That option meant getting an agent and then that agent being able to sell my book to a publisher. It was the right of passage almost. And still is for many of us.
But then with the emergence of the internet and Amazon years ago, self publishing, also known as, independent publishing, became a viable and legitimate option for authors to pursue their dreams of being published. For the last ten years or so, as I spent more time in the writing world, I wanted to become hybrid author, which means being both traditionally published and independently published.
And I thought I would do that by getting trad published first.
That was my plan.
Well you know how plans like to go out the window and often become something you never planned? I began the long and patience learning road of pitching to agents, (I managed with God’s help to attend the ACFW conference in St. Louis in 2022 in person and pitch to agents, and you know, plus meet awesome authors and make a ton of new friends), it was scary, but awesome, even if both agents said no. I also had other agents say no. And the key was it wasn’t because of my writing.
By this time in my career and that’s what I’m calling it, I had finialed and placed in several writing competitions. I wasn’t getting picked up by agents because I was a poor writer, it could have been and probably was numerous reasons. Such as, they already have another writer they represent that has a similar voice to me, my book might not be what the market is looking for right now, my social media numbers aren’t high enough etc. Do I hold it against them? Not at all. Like me, they also need to make a living.
So what caused me to go indie? Nothing earth shattering. I figured it was just time. And I knew by releasing my book The Christmas Box, it was the perfect book to start this journey. And I’m having so much fun learning the indie ropes. I sill have so much to learn about writing, but as a writer, we are always learning. I want to keep improving my craft and writing stories that make people laugh, sigh and be entertained for a while. And I’m looking forward to some day in the future resuming my search for an agent.
But the important thing is I’m having fun!
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